Aaron C. Dilbeck is a partner at Munck Wilson Mandala, practicing in the complex litigation/dispute resolution group. His practice is focused on intellectual property disputes and commercial litigation.
Aaron advocates for national and international clients throughout the country and on both sides of the docket. He has experience with a diverse range of matters including those involving: business torts, fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties, complex contractual relationships, broker and finder controversies, confidentiality and non-disclosure disagreements, trade secret and patent infringement battles, partnership and investment disputes, securities fraud litigation, and tortious interference claims.
Aaron received his JD with honors from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law where he was executive editor of the SMU Science and Technology Law Review. Prior to law school, Aaron worked as a ceramics engineer providing research and development as well as quality assurance and control. Aaron is also the first listed inventor on US Patent Nos. 10,047,002; 10,899,655; and 11,565,465.
Represented plaintiff at trial which resulted in eight-figure patent infringement verdict in federal case involving motion detection technology, which was reversed by the Federal Circuit on patent validity grounds
Represented corporation defending against claims for fraud and fraudulent inducement arising from a business transaction. The plaintiff demanded more than $1.9 million in damages. After a one-week trial, the jury found entirely in favor of the client
Co-defense counsel in federal court action in California, in which investment banking firm sued company for breach of contract, promissory fraud, and declaratory judgment relating to multi-million dollar deals for the purchase of hotels where, after removing the lawsuit to federal court, achieved dismissal of the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction. The plaintiff filed a new lawsuit in Texas State Court. After deposing the plaintiff’s corporate representative, the parties reached a settlement favorable to our client
Co-appellate counsel defending company and executive in securities fraud lawsuit. The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment against the defendants and remanded with directions, and the state’s Supreme Court adopted our client’s argument. The case is currently remanded to the trial court
Co-defense counsel for a company allegedly liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuant to purported breach of contract. After filing a counter-claim and motion to compel, the plaintiff settled for a walk-away
Represented plaintiff asserting single, double, and triple derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty and seeking appointment of a receiver. After filing motion for a receiver, the plaintiff received a favorable settlement
Co-defense counsel for borrowers and guarantors sued by lender seeking millions in monetary damages related to multi-million dollar commercial loans across multiple jurisdictions. Facilitated settlement whereby the lender agreed not to seek monetary damages
Represented plaintiff in infringement cases against prior licensees in Texas and California
Co-defense counsel in multi-million dollar business torts lawsuit where defeated emergency Rule 202 Petition and, in subsequent lawsuit, defeated application for temporary restraining order (after evidentiary hearing) filed against client
Facilitated confidential and non-confidential settlements for various clients on both sides of the docket regarding various disputes
Article: The Texas Rules of Contract Interpretation Played Out in Complex Loan/Pledge Agreement Case: “Notwithstanding” Means “Notwithstanding”, Texas Lawyer, September 4, 2025
Article: A Recurring Atty Fee Question Returns To Texas High Court, Law360, 3, 2025
Article: How Derivative Will Derivative Claims Go?, Law360, April 13, 2023.
Article: ‘Dual Purpose’ Communications, the Attorney-Client Privilege, and the ‘Primary Purpose’ Test in Texas: SCOTUS Punts, But Does Texas?, Expert Opinion, ALM, February 6, 2023.
Article: More Efficient International Service of Process: To Hague, or not to Hague, that is the question., Featured Law Article, International Law Section, State Bar of Texas, March 4, 2022.
Article: When ESI Spoliation May Lead to Termination, ABA, June 26, 2020.
Article: Password-Sharing May Be a Federal Crime Under the Muddied Waters of the CFAA, Corporate Counsel, January 5, 2018.
Presentation: assisted with July 2017 seminar on Hotel Litigation, at La Quinta Corporate Headquarters in Irving, Texas.
Presentation: assisted with December 2017 seminar on Hotel Data & The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, at Phoenix American Hospitality Corporate Headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
Article: Password-Sharing May Be a Federal Crime Under the Muddied Waters of the CFAA, Cybersecurity, Law & Strategy (Law Journal Newsletters), February 2018 Corporate Counsel, January 5, 2018.
Presentation: assisted moderator and speaker for presentation, Data Protection & Cybersecurity, at the NACDL 14th Annual White Collar Seminar on November 9, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
Article: Supreme Court Participates in Patent Reform: Judicial Case Management, 18 SMU Sci. & Tech. L. Rev. 3 (2015)
Article: A Recurring Atty Fee Question Returns To Texas High Court, Law360, Apr. 3, 2025
Article: The Texas Rules of Contract Interpretation Played Out in Complex Loan/Pledge Agreement Case: “Notwithstanding” Means “Notwithstanding”, Texas Lawyer, September 4, 2025
Congratulations to the 10 Munck Wilson Mandala attorneys who were recognized as Texas Rising Stars for 2026, by Thomson Reuters. The top 2.5 percent of the lawyers in Texas are selected by Super Lawyers. To be eligible for the Rising Stars list, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger, or in practice
Rising Stars is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Published by Thomson Reuters, the Texas Rising Stars listing recognizes the top young lawyers in the state based on a multiphase process that includes nominations, an independent research
Notable additions to the lineup this year include Connor Cassady, Michele Himstedt, Will Munck, Drew Nunn, Emily White, Tri Truong, and Jesus Cano. Debuting attorneys exemplify the type of lawyers that the list designates – promising attorneys at the front end of their careers doing laudable work in their respective practice areas. Munck Wilson Mandala
In 2009, the Securities Commissioner for the State of Colorado filed suit against HEI and its President Reed Cagle, HEDC and its President Brandon Davis, and employees John Schiffner and James Pollack, for violations of Colorado’s securities laws. After a seven-day trial in 2013, the District Court entered judgment that the oil and gas general
Munck Wilson Mandala is pleased to announce that 18 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, a publication that recognizes up-and-coming attorneys for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice. The majority of the MWM attorneys featured on this year’s list have been named to the list previously
This week, 10 Munck Wilson Mandala attorneys were recognized as Texas Rising Stars for 2024, by Thomson Reuters. The attorneys honored were MWM partners Chase Cobern, Aaron Dilbeck, Keith Harden, William Howison, Sarah Lopano, and Jordan Strauss; principal attorney David Arvesen; senior associates Julie Christensen and Tri Truong; and associate Tiffany Kahler. Truong is newly
Quadvest, L.P., is an investor-owned utility in Montgomery County, Texas who sued the San Jacinto River Authority for alleged antitrust violations related to a scheme by which SJRA collects fees from groundwater users like Quadvest and then uses those fees to build and operate a $500 million surface water treatment plant in direct competition with
“Aaron, Patrick, and Brent are three of the hardest working attorneys in our firm and I am pleased to see their commitment and focus lead to this next phase of their legal careers,” said William A. Munck, MWM’s managing partner. “Each attorney brings unique talent to critical areas of our litigation team. We are looking forward
Munck Wilson Mandala is pleased to announce that 13 lawyers have been included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, a publication that recognizes up-and-coming attorneys for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice. The majority of the MWM attorneys featured on this year’s list have been named to the list annually
Written as Expert Analysis for Law360 on Apr. 13, 2023 by Shain Khoshbin and Aaron Dilbeck Given the continuing complexities of corporate structures, various courts have recently continued to relax certain standing and capacity requirements for a direct derivative claim to permit someone with an ownership interest in a parent company to seek redress for
Dilbeck and Howison are newly honored this year as Texas Rising Stars and Lopano and Strauss are recognized among the prestigious Up and Coming 50: 2022 Women in Texas Rising Stars. Lopano was also listed among the Up and Coming 100: 2022 Texas Rising Stars. The MWM attorneys were selected in the categories of intellectual
The article by Carolyn Raines, Aaron Dilbeck, and Shain Khoshbin, More Efficient International Service of Process: To Hague, or not to Hague, that is the question, was the March 2022 Featured Law Article by the State Bar of Texas – International Law Section, as shared in their newsletter and on social media. The article has
Justices’ CFAA Ruling Shows Contract Safeguards InsufficientBy Aaron DilbeckLaw360 (June 25, 2021, 3:20 PM EDT) — On June 3, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Van Buren v. U.S. that violating contractual limitations on computer usage cannot form the basis of liability under the CFAA but expressly declined to determine whether violating contractual limitations on computer
Earlier this summer in the first trial, MWM represented Valtech as plaintiff in a dispute against Cornerstone over an earn out payment due under an asset purchase agreement. Cornerstone refused to pay and countersued Valtech for fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. MWM’s Michael McCabe gave a great cross-examination of Cornerstone’s corporate
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Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, JD, 2016
cum laude
University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign, BS, 2011
Material Science and Engineering
State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association
Dallas Bar Association
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2023-2026
Texas Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters 2022 – 2026
Texas, 2016
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
